Tagged: Australia

1. United States (1)- What’s the reasoning for splitting innings between Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins?I’d personally go with Rollins.They’re both similar hitters except he adds more speed and a significant upgrade in the field.Doesn’t seem to be having a negative effect on either though, Rollins is hitting .600 and Jeter is at .400.

2. Japan (4) – Daisuke Matsuzaka is now 4-0 all-time in the WBC, look for 22-year-old Yu Darvish to follow in his footsteps and become the next big Japanese pitcher.

3. Cuba (5) – Six homers in an easy win over South Africa.

4. Venezuela (3) – Not much pitching depth after Carlos Silva, Armando Galarraga, King Felix and K-Rod as shown by Team USA’s 13 runs off their bullpen.

10. Netherlands (12) – I’m sure the win means the everything back in Europe but don’t buy into this team.They are hitting .151 as a group, ranking dead last in the WBC and the Dominicans got 30 base runners as opposed to their 11 in the two games.They got lucky, very lucky.A hit here and a hit there mixed in with fewer than the six errors they made and D-R is obviously in Miami instead.

11. Australia (14) – Chris Snelling leads a team much improved from ’06 Classic when they ranked 13th in pitching (6.85 ERA) and dead last in hitting (.113 AVG).

12. Italy (11) – Upset Canada but not much else to show for ’09 Classic.

13. Panama (10) – Never had a chance, two and done without one run to show for it.

14. China (15) – They got their first victory, maybe this is the first stride in the development of Chinese baseball.

After taking a few weeks off to write my research paper, I’m back with a look at the World Baseball Classic.Lets get into it:

1. United States- Surprisingly their team doesn’t have the most stars in the tournament, but depth and an improved mindset is what should lead Team USA to its first WBC title.

2. Dominican Republic- You know your offense is good when it’s the best in the tournament while missing Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada and Vladimer Guerrero.

3. Venezuela- Felix Hernandez will take the ace role from injured pitcher Johan Santana.Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Magglio Ordonez anchor the offense.

4. Japan- The defending champs will be back with a target on their shoulders.Player you’ve never heard of to watch out for: starting pitcher Yu Darvish.Also note that their pitchers are in mid-season form, a huge advantage.

5. Cuba- Electrifying shortstop Yulieski Gourriel and the Cuban national team aim to avenge their 10-6 loss in the championship.

6. Korea- Shin-Soo Choo is the lone major leaguer on a team that advanced to the semifinals in 2006.

7. Mexico- A team with plenty of major league experience that knocked Team USA out of the last Classic.

8. Puerto Rico- Carlos Beltran leads a team of aging stars that would have been title contenders a decade ago.

9. Canada- Eric Bedard was their only legitimate pitcher.They just won’t have enough arms despite an offense with Justin Morneau, Russell Martin and Jason Bay.